FicWad

Chapter 16: Duplicity

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"I won't tell, I promise," Naruto said, looking around and then leaning closer.

"Well...I...I think..."

"Go ahead..."

"I think I might have been the one that killed Kakashi."

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Naruto gaped at his old friend, his mouth hanging open, for a few moments before he clamped his jaws shut and gulped, his bright blue eyes narrowing in confusion. Sasuke prepared himself to present the evidence, but then a grin took over Naruto's face and Sasuke sighed, predicting what the blond was about to say.

"Well, you're just full of..." - he struggled for what to call that last announcement - "...completely uncalled for jokes tonight, aren't you?" Naruto said through his forced smile, taking another swig of his drink. He swallowed the alcohol slowly, but was forced to do a double-take when he realized that Sasuke still wasn't smiling. "You...Sasuke..." he leaned forward, the drunken grin disappearing. "You're serious, aren't you? But...no...you've got to be kidding me..."

"It's not a joke," Sasuke muttered, shaking his head, "Do you think I would joke about something like this?"

The loud atmosphere of the restaurant was stifling as Naruto continued, unbelieving. "But you don't have any reason...why..."

The dark-haired man bent his head and gripped his skull, ashamed. "Damn it, Naruto...I don't know! I can't remember anything from the day he was supposedly murdered...my reflection keeps on harassing me..."

Naruto cut him off. "Your reflection?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, my reflection. Didn't you find it odd that I was breaking all the mirrors in my house? Before you and Sakura got there...I was going crazy! That wasn't the only mirror that was gone. And the windows...pretty soon the windows are going to be gone too! No matter what the Hokage or Sakura says...I think Orochimaru is still able to talk to me, and even controlling me sometimes. Either that...or I've gone completely insane."

Naruto seemed to still be trying to process the reality of this new situation; his voice shook and waved when he spoke. "Well...OK, we know that you didn't know where you were the day Kakashi was killed...but what were your motives? I mean, why would you want to kill him? Why would Orochimaru want to kill him? I'm having a little trouble understanding your logic here."

"Naruto, I found a shirt of mine completely covered in blood. And...Kami, I feel like I'm betraying you and Sakura, but...can't you tell that some part of me has had it in for him ever since I found out he and Sakura were together? Naruto, I am completely in love with her, and...well...Kakashi was in the way..."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need your help! I can't do this on my own...I've learned that by now. If I haven't figured out anything else it's that I need you and Sakura."

"Why!"

Sasuke stopped to realize that the blond had started to cry. Naruto slammed his fist down on the table suddenly and Sasuke could feel the powerful chakra of the nine-tailed fox coursing through the wood. The Uchiha shook with the force that he suddenly felt; Naruto spoke, silently and threateningly. "The death of our mentor is enough...but hearing that he was killed by my best friend? It's too much." His head jerked up; his eyes were fiery and swollen from the uncommon tears. "It's too much, damn it! Now, I won't tell anyone what you said...but I don't want to hear from you for awhile." He threw some money down on the table and then began to walk away, turning to say one more thing. "And stay away from Sakura...or I'll kill you."

Sasuke sat still for a moment; he could feel the eyes of the entire restaurant on him and he was sure they wee all wondering what the traitorous Uchiha boy was up to now. He glanced around at them all before deliberately knocking down his drink and stalking out after Naruto. The waitress was so intimidated that she didn't even have the nerve to ask him to pay for it.

Just as Sasuke had suspected, Naruto had retreated to the memorial stone. By now it was pouring rain and the sky was bright with that ethereal glow it gains during a storm. Naruto was easily visible with his bright yellow hair and orange attire, his head bowed in respect at the huge rock. Sasuke approached slowly, not wanting to stir the blonde's quick and dangerous fury. He knew that Naruto had probably already sensed his presence...but he kept his distance anyway.

"Why are you here?" Naruto growled, "It's not as if you cared about him anyway..."

"I need...I need a friend, Naruto. I don't want to be like this...I need you and Sakura-"

"I still just can't believe you really did it! Sasuke, do you know how crazy you sound?"

He sighed. "Yes, I...and I want to change...please..."

Both men stood still for a few minutes, one staring in reverence at the memorial stone, the other considering his options. Sasuke knew that he had two choices: he could leave and his responsibility for Kakashi's murder would be kept secret, or he could stay and try to keep his friendship together, risking the possibility that others would learn about his problem.

He chose to stay.

Naruto finally cleared his throat and spoke. "I want to have the blood on that shirt tested...and we'll go from there. I really do feel like we should all stick together...it's what Kakashi would have wanted."

The two left the stone silently, whispering their goodbyes to lost friends.

But they didn't notice the kunoichi hidden in the trees, a little orange book clutched against her chest and tears pricking at her eyes.

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No...this can't be...it can't...

Sakura held herself up on the banister, stopping to try and tell herself that it wasn't true. Sasuke did not kill Kakashi...he couldn't have.

Her stomach churned uncomfortably and she sank down onto the steps, one hand on her belly and the other over her mouth. Tears began to pour down her face against her will, and she stuck her hand into her mouth, biting until she tasted blood. Her shoulders shook, and she cursed herself for her weakness. Her fiancée was dead, and the man who supposedly loved her had betrayed her...it was all her fault. If she hadn't told Sasuke about the pregnancy, Kakashi might still be alive.

No. This was not her fault.

Blue-green eyes opened to show a different woman.

"He's taken everything from me," she hissed, standing up slowly. "HE'S TAKEN EVERYTHING!"

He stole everything...my future...it's gone...all because of him...

She spun around on the steps, ready to head straight back out the door to take her revenge. What she had learned as a ninja had always stopped her from taking rash action, but by now she was past thinking things through. And then it hit her -

Sasuke was far too strong for her to take on alone. She would have to get help...maybe tell someone else that he had killed Kakashi: someone she could trust, so she could make sure she had the honors of killing him herself.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"What am I thinking..."

She had always been patient. She had always been understanding. Hell, she had stood by Sasuke through all the years that he had pushed her away. And now she was ready to kill him, even though, from how he had sounded at the memorial stone, it seemed like he honestly regretted killing Kakashi - if he had even done it in the first place. She had been in love with the dark-haired boy for all those years, and she needed to find some of that compassion again before she did something crazy. She knew that if she hurt Sasuke then she would regret it later...and she didn't need any other kind of regret weighing on her mind right now.

But he had really and truly taken everything...

A noise at the door forced her to come back to reality and she clutched her head. "No Sakura, don't do this..."

"Sakura?"

It was Naruto. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and then went to go get the door.

When she opened the door Naruto stepped inside from the dark and rainy night, shaking droplets of water out of his shock of yellow hair. Sakura looked him over silently before speaking. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just walking by and I heard something from inside. You OK?"

"Yes, I...well, I'm as fine as I could possibly be under the...given circumstances."

Naruto stared at her out of the corner of his eye, examining her appearance for any sign of what she was really thinking. It vaguely disturbed him to realize that, although he'd always been able to read Sakura when they were younger, he had no idea what was going on in her head now. She had become a much more accomplished kunoichi...and seemingly distant.

"I understand," he said quietly. "Kami, Sakura...how are we supposed to get over this?"

"Well...if I only knew who killed him I would take the appropriate action to deal with it." She cast her gaze at him, some unfamiliar look in her eye. "Wouldn't you, Naruto?"

He gulped. "Oh...of course I would. I want to avenge Kakashi as much as you do."

Sakura nodded. "Of course."

The air hung and grew stale with uncomfortable silence. Sakura cleared her throat. "Coffee?"

"Nah, I plan on going to bed right when I get home."

"Mm."

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"If something was wrong, you would tell me, right?"

She glared at the floor and Naruto's gut twisted in his stomach. She couldn't know...she couldn't possibly know... "Well Naruto. I'd like to ask you the same question. Would you tell me if there was something you thought I needed to know? If something was...wrong?"

Naruto couldn't help it; he fidgeted. His guard was down. He didn't feel like he needed to protect himself around Sakura...but was there really anyone he could trust? Sasuke had just confessed that he may have killed Kakashi and now Sakura was suspicious of Naruto himself. "I really don't...I don't know what you're talking about, Sakura."

"Oh, I think you do."

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed. "I have to go."

"Wait."

He turned towards her as he headed towards the door, just looking over his shoulder so that he could make a quick exit if he needed to. He didn't think Sakura would hurt him...but he knew that she was capable, and he didn't want it to come to that.

"When you and Sasuke were at the memorial stone tonight...I was there."

Naruto sighed. "Sakura..."

"And I'm unsure of what I want to do. Because I have a choice. And I have to choose between the man I used to love and the man that I still love...even though he's dead." She squeezed her eyes shut, hugging her shoulders sadly. "Kakashi is dead because of Sasuke. I want to know why."

"If you didn't hear this part...Sasuke doesn't have any memories of killing him."

"I know. And that's why I...I want to help him, Naruto. But you have to watch him because...because I'm afraid I might do something crazy and hurt him. And I could hurt him very badly...you know I could."

"I know."

A tear dropped ran down her cheek; she quickly brushed it away, sniffling. "And I need help too. I need both of you to help me.

"We need to stick together through this."

Naruto nodded. "I agree...we'll talk about this more. Tomorrow. You need sleep, Sakura."

She flicked another tear from her face as he quietly exited the house and shut the door behind him.

----

Hatake Kakashi had followed a cloaked figure into the woods.

Kakashi was a renowned ninja; he had no reason to fear random people in small, random villages. There was no way anyone could sneak up on him here, and by the way that the cloaked figure had been moving he could easily tell that the person was not a shinobi. And he was bored. He wanted so badly to get back to Konoha, where distraction would certainly be waiting for him.

He was surprised to find that he had lost sight of the person in the cloak, and was just about to turn around and go back to the village when he heard a flitter of noise behind him.

It was that familiar sound of the air conflicting with a human being moving very fast and very quietly. Kakashi turned, pulling down his mask in one swift movement to reveal his Sharingan, but the eye didn't seem to be working properly. In fact, his left eye didn't seem to be working at all.

His heart rate sped up. Not once had the Sharingan failed him in the past...not once had it stopped working. And now he couldn't see anything at all.

A sharp pain hit the back of his head and he was suddenly on the ground, looking up into the face of a familiar young girl in a just-as-familiar brown cloak...

----

Kakashi, sprawled out on his back on the mattress in his room, opened his eyes with the realization that Seiko was not the dangerous one in the family.

That one memory had given him even more information than the fact that he needed to watch out for Yuu more than Seiko. The distraction that was waiting for him back in Konoha - his village - was suddenly clear to him. In just one memory he had figured out who the girl and the two boys in those pictures were. He remembered the "distractions" in his village.

And he was dying to pick up his favorite volume of Icha Icha Paradise and start reading.

Kakashi felt like his brain was a little scramble at that moment. The ideas that had just popped into his head were honestly a little disorienting. He still couldn't seem to find the names for the figures in his memory, but he did remember the feelings, and that was what mattered. Most of his history was still lost to him...but the here and now was back.

Moonlight filtered in through the tiny barred window near the roof of the room, so he had to suppose that it was night time. Now how did he get in here? He was a strong, accomplished ninja, and he'd never been ambushed like that before. So what exactly had happened?

"Seiko?" he said loudly.

An exasperated yawn originated from the other side of the door. "Yeah?"

"Thought you might want to know I remembered something!"

There was some rustling noise on the other side of the door and then it cracked open to reveal Seiko's rough face. He glanced around the room to make sure Kakashi hadn't planted any traps and then walked in and shut the door behind him. "We have to hurry. She'll be back soon."

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Sasuke rolled over onto his stomach with a pained groan, his shoulder burning. The seal was hurting again.

Morning light filtered in through the window as he got up to get a fresh hot washcloth from the bathroom to put on his shoulder. Not only was that bizarre wound hurting, but the slice on his hand from his outburst yesterday had started bleeding again as well. He was going to have to get that looked at...

Something rustled over to his left.

There was something in the house.

His head spun around to see what was causing the commotion, only to see a mirror. Damn...he thought he'd broken all of he mirrors the night before. Hadn't he? At that moment he couldn't exactly remember where he'd been when all the trouble had started...when he'd started seeing things...

"I guess you missed this one," his reflection told him, sneering and resembling Itachi more than he would've liked. Sasuke frowned.

"Well...I suppose I can't get rid of you."

"Of course not." The doppelganger seemed to lean out of the mirror a bit, smiling. "I am you, Sasuke."

"You...you're not me. I wouldn't have done anything like...like kill my own teacher."

"Why not? You killed your own brother. And you know you were jealous. You were jealous of how close he'd become with Sakura...you know how much you want her. I know what your dreams are like. The satisfaction you felt as you stabbed that kunai through the famous copy ninja's gut...then going back to the kunoichi and letting her cry on your shoulder..."

"Shut up!" Sasuke's fist hurled out at the mirror, shattering it. The pieces crashed to the ground; new cuts were opening up on his hand. "Damn it..."

"Watch out," his reflection said from one of the tiny fragments of the mirror.

But it was too late; Sasuke was already on the ground, unconscious.

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Kakashi gave Seiko a confused look before cautiously leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his stomach. "Who...?"

"Who do you think I mean?" Seiko muttered, planting himself on the mattress in the corner of the room. "Yuu. She's gone now, but I don't know when she's coming back."

"Wait a minute. You're not her sidekick...or something?"

"Hell no. She's...she's my sister...or...she was..."

"What do you mean?"

Seiko sighed, placing his hands on his forehead and looking at the floor. "She...my sister was possessed by...by something. I don't know what it is that's taken over, but Yuu was sweet and kind. She's not the same anymore." He shook his head. "She doesn't know that I've figured it out... And that's why she trusts me. She knows that I wouldn't do anything to hurt my sister...but I can pretend that you've escaped."

Kakashi held up his hands, frowning. "Now wait a second. I want to know more."

"Listen, I don't know how much time I have to get you out of here. We need to leave. Now."

The boy was serious; Kakashi could tell. "Just let me ask you one thing...what's happened to my eye? And will you tell me why she's obsessed with making me suffer?"

"We don't have time for both...but your eye...I don't know when you'll get your Sharingan back. That jutsu is one that Yuu learned from the demon."

"So it's a jutsu?"

"Yeah, but that's all I know." Seiko looked around quickly before opening the door and scanning the hallway as well. "Let's go."

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Sasuke's eyes blinked open slowly, and he squinted at the blinding light shining through his lashes. "Who are you...?"

There was a small girl sitting far too close to him and looking at him with huge, deceivingly innocent eyes. She smiled weakly, a sigh escaping her lips. "I can't believe it...I've been here all this time and you still don't know who I am?"

The dark-haired man narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." The room seemed to shimmer and all of a sudden, he was looking at himself. "I'm you."

He scooted backwards, his injured hand falling on another piece of broken glass. "What the fuck!" he exclaimed, ignoring the pain in his hand and trying to stagger to his feet. It was to no avail; he quickly found that his legs weren't working at all. He spun onto his knees, crawling away.

The girl appeared in front of him again. "Look at me!"

When she finally looked into his eyes...

There was nothing there.

The girl stood up, crossing her arms over her chest and looking around. "Seiko...Seiko where are you!" she whispered, her voice shaking slightly. Sasuke got up, dusting off his clothes and disregarding the blood dripping from his hand.

"Go to sleep, Yuu," he muttered, putting a hand on her head. The girl fell to the ground, her body limp and lifeless. The shattered pieces of the mirror reflected a man that didn't exactly resemble Sasuke...but something more sinister...something superhuman.

Night had fallen; the demon in Sasuke's body felt in his element as he walked down the dark streets of Konoha, looking for nobody in particular. He could feel his body weakening - he needed more energy and he needed it now. But this place was dangerous for him. He didn't want to come across any stronger nin before he reached his destination.

The demon couldn't exactly reach into Sasuke's mind far enough to remember how to get there. He knew that Sasuke had been to this place quite a few times in the past few weeks...but the demon couldn't seem to find it.

Ah. He could smell her scent from anywhere.

He jumped up into the open window, the smell of cherry blossoms filling his nostrils. He smiled, his face twisting into what couldn't be seen as a grin.

"Sakura..." he whispered.

Her eyes snapped open, the green glowing in the dark. "Who is it?"

"You know who it is."

Her eyes narrowed. "Sasuke."

He jumped from the window, smirking. He knew she would follow...he knew exactly what she would do for every step of his plan. And so far it was going perfectly.

The demon made his way back to the Uchiha manor, opening the door slowly and luxuriously to go up the stairs and sit down on the bed, taking off his shoes. He walked through to the bathroom, rinsing his hands of Sasuke's blood. They were covered in tiny cuts; oh well, there was no helping it now.

He knew she was there, watching him as he sat back down on the bed, her shapely figure silhouetted in the dim light. "Why did you do it, Sasuke?"

He grinned. This was exactly what he had meant to happen...exactly what his alter ego had been dreaming about for weeks. "Do what?"

"You killed him...why? Why didn't you take me too?" As the tears began to flow down her face, the familiar jealousy sprung up in his stomach, wrapping around his heart and enveloping him in hatred for the girl and the man...the man who wasn't dead yet. But they would both be dead soon. After he'd had his way with them. "You've stolen my life, Sasuke...and now...now you're going to pay!"

She sprung at him, a sharp and deadly kunai aimed straight for his heart.

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Seiko led Kakashi through what seemed like an endless number of different corridors and stairwells, elevators and caverns until they reached what seemed vaguely familiar to the copy ninja.

Realization dawned on him. "You mean...we've been in the Konoha underground this entire time!?"

"Yeah," Seiko muttered, "And I guess you know where to go from here."

Kakashi nodded and the younger man acknowledged him, slowly turning to go back the way they had come from. "I have to go back and set the scene to make it look like you escaped. You should get back...I'm worried that whatever thing has her is after your girl."

Kakashi was about to respond when Seiko's eyes suddenly widened. "Kami...hold on...Yuu...she...she's hurt!"

The leaf ninja frowned in agitation. "What do you mean?"

"She's hurt! I mean...I haven't gotten anything like this from her in weeks. Ever since that thing took hold...oh no."

"What?"

"It must've changed hosts."

"What?"

Seiko sighed. "You know the nature of these things...they just go between bodies whenever they please..."

And that was when it all came together in Kakashi's mind.

"I know where to find both of them. Come with me."

----

The demon was faster than Sakura. Sasuke's strong body grabbed her wrist and threw her to the bed in one movement, the kunai flying into the wall on the other side of the room. His eyes changed color; the Sharingan was activating.

He bent his head into the crook of her neck, flicking his tongue out along her jaw bone and then grazing his fangs over her throat. "Sakura..."

She gasped in breaths, gulping. "Oro...Orochimaru..."

Sasuke chuckled, his voice cracking maniacally. "No...not quite...I'm something else...bet you can't guess what."

Sakura searched her mind for what this thing could possibly be. It wasn't the Sasuke she knew; that was for sure. But what was it if it wasn't Orochimaru in control of Sasuke's body again? "You...um..."

She'd let her body go loose enough; she swiftly grabbed his arms and tossed him off of her, backing up as far as she could only to find that the door had somehow been shut. He was in front of her in an instant, his Sharingan eyes looking into hers with an intensity that she recognized all too well.

His hands.

He roughly ran his hands along her thighs, pulling her red dress up.

Not so gentle as she would've liked.

Her eyes widened in fright; it was going to happen again. And she couldn't do anything to stop it.

"No."

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Author's Note: SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER!!!!!!!

I'll be finishing it in the next one or two chapters...I hope this was good enough for you all. And I'm really sorry I didn't update sooner. I seriously feel terrible about it...but there was just no inspiration. At all.

Please please PLEASE review and I guarantee that I will finish this story within the next two months! I love you all and I'll reply to reviews tomorrow!

--Kat